Hit by breakdown,RTO to get new AC bus

The mobile van idea had been kicked off by the RTO to enable it to reach out to the suburbs of Pune and expedite the process of issuing licences to citizens.

When Newsline approached officials to seek details of the complaints,deputy regional transport officer Laxman Darade said,“We are aware of the problems. For the last two-three weeks,we have been receiving reports of breakdowns. As it is the first time that we have taken this (mobile RTO) initiative we’re also learning on a trial and error basis.”

The bus being used now is a 1994 model scrapped by the PMPML. Server failures of the computers inside the van cause problems with the driving tests to issue licences.

Darade said,“A proposal has been sent by transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav to the state government to provide us with an air conditioned bus to run this project successfully. With a better bus that will have a good suspension system,the jerks will be less and thus the problem of breakdowns and servers being hit will be minimised.”

Baba Shinde,former member,Regional Transport Authority (RTA),said,“The basic purpose of the initiative,that is issuing of licenses,is not being done properly. As the written part of the driving tests are to be done online,with a faulty server connection,(resulting from bad suspension system) they are not able to conduct tests in the stipulated time. The initial target was 200 licenses a day,but they are not able to achieve it without proper infrastructure to back their plans. Also when there is a breakdown in the suburbs,it takes a very long time for maintenance help to reach the spot.”

Shinde also feels that with rains coming,they should also be able to provide some kind of a waiting area for people as they line up to submit applications and take the test as forming queues on roads will not be convenient during monsoon.

The mobile RTO goes to 10 suburban spots in the city a week including Market Yard,Katraj,Khadakwasla,Balewadi,Warje,Kharadi,Kothurd,Aundh and Kondhwa. Each day two spots are covered with a daily target of issuing 100 licences.